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Like many folks in Latin America, I have two given names and two surnames (no hyphen). I run into IT systems that choke at my two surnames every now and then an

Like many folks in Latin America, I have two given names and two surnames (no hyphen). I run into IT systems that choke at my two surnames every now and then and it's a pain. Introducing a hyphen isn't great: it doesn't match my legal name and it's awkward because some people do have a hyphenated surname plus another surname. I've also met several people whose legal name doesn't include a surname.

lelanthran 3y ago
> Like many folks in Latin America, I have two given names and two surnames (no hyphen). I run into IT systems that choke at my two surnames every now and then and it's a pain. You presumably have a formal name: A B C D, with A and B being your two given names, C and D being your two surnames. So what does it say on your ID? Your birth certificate if you have no ID? Does your countries revenue service address you as "Dear A B", "Mr C D", "Dear A", "Mr D" or something else altogether?
- david-gpu 3y ago
  > You presumably have a formal name: A B C D, with A and B being your two given names, C and D being your two surnames. Yes, that's right. That is my full legal name. > So what does it say on your ID? Your birth certificate if you have no ID? Same as my full legal name: A B C D. > Does your countries revenue service address you as "Dear A B", "Mr C D", "Dear A", "Mr D" or something else altogether? Well, there is no such thing as "my country" because I'm a dual citizen. Born in Spain, currently living in Canada as a naturalized citizen. That is where the troubles begin, because while in Spain IT systems typically assume people have two surnames, in North America they often assume a single surname. So far it has not a problem when dealing with the various levels of the Canadian government, but for example my bank addresses me as A B C-D due to limitations in their IT infrastructure. Incidentally, in Spain we are typically addressed as A C or Mr. C for brevity, while A B C D would be reserved for formal communications. I hope this answers your questions.
  - lelanthran 3y ago
    > > So what does it say on your ID? Your birth certificate if you have no ID? > Same as my full legal name: A B C D. Right, so your Firstname is A and your Lastname is D. There's no ambiguity there. You're sorted for those forms that ask for firstname/lastname, not for those forms that ask for given/family name.
    - david-gpu 3y ago
      > Right, so your Firstname is A and your Lastname is D. There's no ambiguity there. You are offering your own unique technical solution to a cultural problem that has already been solved, and while I admire your confidence, I must explain why it is incorrect. I don't have a "last name", I have two surnames. The notion of "last name" implicitly assumes that there is one and only one surname. As I already hinted at, people in Spain customarily use their first surname as their "last name". That's why 90% of communications address me as A C, even while living in Canada. It is my understanding that the same rule is used in all of Latin America, including Brazil.
    - tremon 3y ago
      No, their full family name is C D. If you must abbreviate it, the correct address would be Sr C, not Sr D. There is no way that entering D in a "last name" field would be correct unless you're aiming for passive aggressive obstinacy. To take a famous example: the full name of Rafael Nadal is Rafael Nadal Parera: one given name and two surnames, with the first surname taking precedence.

lelanthran 3y ago

> Like many folks in Latin America, I have two given names and two surnames (no hyphen). I run into IT systems that choke at my two surnames every now and then and it's a pain. You presumably have a formal name: A B C D, with A and B being your two given names, C and D being your two surnames. So what does it say on your ID? Your birth certificate if you have no ID? Does your countries revenue service address you as "Dear A B", "Mr C D", "Dear A", "Mr D" or something else altogether?

david-gpu 3y ago
> You presumably have a formal name: A B C D, with A and B being your two given names, C and D being your two surnames. Yes, that's right. That is my full legal name. > So what does it say on your ID? Your birth certificate if you have no ID? Same as my full legal name: A B C D. > Does your countries revenue service address you as "Dear A B", "Mr C D", "Dear A", "Mr D" or something else altogether? Well, there is no such thing as "my country" because I'm a dual citizen. Born in Spain, currently living in Canada as a naturalized citizen. That is where the troubles begin, because while in Spain IT systems typically assume people have two surnames, in North America they often assume a single surname. So far it has not a problem when dealing with the various levels of the Canadian government, but for example my bank addresses me as A B C-D due to limitations in their IT infrastructure. Incidentally, in Spain we are typically addressed as A C or Mr. C for brevity, while A B C D would be reserved for formal communications. I hope this answers your questions.
- lelanthran 3y ago
  > > So what does it say on your ID? Your birth certificate if you have no ID? > Same as my full legal name: A B C D. Right, so your Firstname is A and your Lastname is D. There's no ambiguity there. You're sorted for those forms that ask for firstname/lastname, not for those forms that ask for given/family name.
  - david-gpu 3y ago
    > Right, so your Firstname is A and your Lastname is D. There's no ambiguity there. You are offering your own unique technical solution to a cultural problem that has already been solved, and while I admire your confidence, I must explain why it is incorrect. I don't have a "last name", I have two surnames. The notion of "last name" implicitly assumes that there is one and only one surname. As I already hinted at, people in Spain customarily use their first surname as their "last name". That's why 90% of communications address me as A C, even while living in Canada. It is my understanding that the same rule is used in all of Latin America, including Brazil.
  - tremon 3y ago
    No, their full family name is C D. If you must abbreviate it, the correct address would be Sr C, not Sr D. There is no way that entering D in a "last name" field would be correct unless you're aiming for passive aggressive obstinacy. To take a famous example: the full name of Rafael Nadal is Rafael Nadal Parera: one given name and two surnames, with the first surname taking precedence.